Smartphones

Sony reportedly readies first phablet

A French press invite from Sony Mobile touts a "big surprise" at an upcoming July 4 event in Paris, but a slew of leaked images and specs may have spoiled the secret of Sony's first phablet before its big reveal.

The invitation features a mysterious image of a tall and slim device with a profile that resembles the Xperia Z smartphone and tablet. The new device -- expected to be named the Xperia Z Ultra -- is rumored to have a 6.4-inch screen and a 1080p HD resolution (That's a pixel density of 342 ppi … Read more

Apple's Eddy Cue: Steve Jobs was confused in his e-mails

NEW YORK -- An e-mail from late Apple CEO Steve Jobs about e-book deal terms is no smoking gun, just a confused draft of a message, said a high-level Apple executive Monday during the e-books antitrust trial.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of software and services, testified that he never received an email from Jobs that said publishers would have to change their e-book sales terms with Amazon in order to reach an agreement with Apple. Cue said he didn't receive any of the four other drafts of the message, either.

Furthermore, Cue said there's no … Read more

Apple holds a quarter of e-book market, Eddy Cue says

NEW YORK -- Apple sells about a quarter of all e-books in the market, a high-level executive at the electronics giant said Monday.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of software and services, estimated that Apple holds a 25 percent share of the market, about on par with Barnes & Noble. He noted the two companies often flip the ranking, with Barnes & Noble sometimes having a higher share than Apple.

"I believe it's close," Cue said in his testimony Monday during Apple's e-book pricing trial. "At different times, we go back and forth.&… Read more

How to sync iCloud Reminders with your Android device

For some users who are torn between switching from iOS to Android, the downside of giving up some iCloud features such as Calendar and Reminders (especially if there are shared calendars or reminder lists with other iCloud users) is too much to overlook.

Last July I covered an app called SmoothSync for Cloud Calendar that provided a solution for Android users to still have two-way sync with iCloud calendars. The app has been updated several times since last summer, with each update improving reliability, but until recently the option to sync Reminders was still missing. If you had set up … Read more

Improve your looks with Facetune

The Internet is not a great place for honesty. Do you know how I know this? One hint is the fact that Facetune is currently in the top 5 of the top paid apps for the iPhone. It's a $2.99 portrait photo editor that lets you improve your looks before uploading a profile picture or otherwise sharing photos of yourself online.

Facetune provides 10 easy-to-use tools that let you pinch and swipe to edit your photo. For each tool, you use two fingers to zoom in and move around your image and one finger to apply an effect.… Read more

CNET's Galaxy S4 e-book guide (and a giveaway spectacular!)

The world's fastest-selling Android phone just got a little savvier. CNET How To is bringing its very best, unpublished advice to our newest e-book, "Mastering the Galaxy S4."

New to Android? We've got you. Google maven? You'll find plenty of hidden tips here, too. We've tapped through every last feature, button, sensor, shortcut, and blaster (seriously) to bring you the tips and tricks that help you master your S4.

CNET brought you a guidebook before, but for the S4, we've kicked it up a notch.

The e-book features hundreds of tips, from setting … Read more

Moto X phone's rumored specs don't mark the spot

Ever since Google bought Motorola, there has been hope for a perfect marriage between Google software and Motorola hardware. The upcoming Moto X smartphone just may not be that union.

Motorola moto x: 1.7GHz dual-core MSM8960 Pro, 720p, 2GB/16GB, 10MP/2MP, Android 4.2.2

— @evleaks (@evleaks) June 15, 2013

According to a Friday tweet from anonymous leaker @evleaks, the Motorola Moto X packs a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 Pro processor with 2GB of RAM. That's nothing to sneeze at, but in the age of quad-core phones, it isn't exactly high end. The Moto … Read more

Jay-Z's 'Magna Carta Holy Grail' hits Samsung first

Samsung just got its hands on the holy grail of hip-hop. Actually, it's "Magna Carta Holy Grail," the new album from rap icon Jay-Z that will be made available for free to the first 1 million Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy Note 2 owners who download a special app.

The app, which can be downloaded starting on June 24, is said to provide an "unprecedented inside look into the album personal stories and inspiration," and will also unlock the new album on July 4, three days before it officially goes on sale for the non-Galaxy owning world.… Read more

Apple e-book trial: How the case has unfolded so far

Apple's e-book pricing trial has brought its fair share of funny moments and tense exchanges.

The Justice Department, which initially sued Apple and a handful of the nation's largest publishers slightly more than a year ago, contends Apple forced publishers to move to a model that artificially inflated the prices of digital books and hurt consumers. Apple has argued that it wasn't trying to change in the industry and that it was only trying to secure the best deal for itself.

With two weeks down and one week to go, most of the key witnesses have testified. … Read more